Professor Larry Heck Elected to 2024 Class of National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellows

Dec 10, 2024
Prof. Larry Heck, ECE and CoC

Prof. Larry Heck, ECE and CoC

Technology Licensing proudly celebrates Professor Larry Heck, executive director of the Machine Learning Center and professor with joint appointments in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the College of Computing, on his election to the 2024 class of National Academy of Inventors Fellows.

This honor recognizes Professor Heck’s exceptional contributions to innovation, advancing technology, and fostering groundbreaking research that benefits society and drives economic development.

A Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and holder of the Rhesa S. Farmer Chair of Advanced Computing Concepts, Heck’s impactful career spans both academic and industry leadership. His achievements include:

  • Fellow of the IEEE and member of the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at Georgia Tech.

  • Recipient of the Distinguished Engineer Award from Texas Tech University's Whitacre College of Engineering.

  • An accomplished researcher with an h-index of 52 and more than 10,920 citations (Google Scholar, April 6, 2023).

  • Co-author of award-winning papers, including the 2020 IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award for IEEE/ACM Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing.

  • Inventor with more than 50 U.S. patents (granted and applications).

  • Former CEO of Viv Labs, senior vice president of R&D at Samsung, and principal scientist at Google Research, among other roles.

Heck’s work has shaped fields such as artificial intelligence, speech recognition, and advanced computing, exemplifying Georgia Tech’s commitment to innovation and excellence in research.

Election to NAI is the highest professional distinction specifically awarded to inventors. Founded in 2012, the NAI Fellows program has recognized 22 Georgia Tech innovators — 12 in just the last five years. Heck joins a 2025 class of 170 new fellows representing university, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide.

Join us in celebrating this outstanding accomplishment and the impact of Professor Larry Heck’s pioneering work!

Congratulations, Larry!